Baker's Journal
by The Assassin's mentor
Summary: All she could do was flip through the pages of the weathered book as her eyes darted from one page to another. She took in every detail as her own memories started playing back in her head as she continued to read through the journal. Memories of bliss and tragedy. She knew it was wrong to look into people's private things, but curiosity took over her.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY or Brothers in Arms**

* * *

_Before he died, my dad told me every soldier has two families. Those you raise... and those you raise hell with._

* * *

It was an early morning at Beacon as the sun barely loomed over the academy. The students were still asleep. The only area's of activity was in the office of Ozpin and the classrooms designated to the usual professors of the staff.

But today would be different.

"Prof. Ozpin, I'm just asking you if I could take a leave for a bit?" Oobleck said in an unusual slow voice to the headmaster in the office.

Ozpin looked up from his desk to eye the green haired professor with curiosity. "A leave? What's wrong, Oobleck?" the sliver haired professor asked him.

"Well, my mom's in the hospital after having a heart attack. I'm just asking if I could go take care of her for awhile," Oobleck asked Ozpin nervously. He only heard the crinkle of paper and the scratching of a pen meeting paper. He looked up to see a paper with Ozpin's signature at the bottom.

"Here. Take care of your mother," Ozpin said with a smile on his face. He handed the paper over to Oobleck who was on the verge of tears not knowing how to thank him.

"I-I, I don't know what to say," Oobleck said to him as he scanned the paper up and down, over and over again.

"Well, you could say who's gonna cover you and your history class," Ozpin answered for him.

"Damn, I really didn't think about that, Oz. I guess I was so busy trying to tell you about my mom that thing about a substitute slipped my mind," Oobleck replied with guilt.

Ozpin raised a hand at his friend to ease him of his worries. "Let me worry about that. You just go to your mother and take care of her," Ozpin said to him. With renewed energy, Oobleck zipped out of the office with a couple papers following his trail of wind that propelled with him. Ozpin fixed his glasses and started roaming through his head for a temp.

Ozpin was still looking for a teacher to replace Oobleck for a bit. He had gone through most of his contacts already on his Scroll but the subs were already taken by other academies across Remnant. "Who else can I ask to replace Oobleck? All the others are more in combat or logistics. Who else can I look to for history?" he grumbled with irritation. His eyes then caught the picture frame on his desk. He stared at it for a good moment before shaking his head. "No, no. I can't just intrude on him willy nilly."

The ticking of the clock droned on as Ozpin kept looking at the picture. It was a picture of a younger him, Glynda, Qrow, Summer and a friend of his in front of the academy when they were attending. That was when until his friend decided to join the army when a civil war broke out in Atlas during the middle of their second year. He just packed his bags and left without telling anyone.

He was taken out of his thoughts when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked behind him to see Glynda standing there. "Prof. Ozpin, you do know that Prof. Oobleck has left the academy, right?" she asked him.

Ozpin nodded before stretching his arms. "Yeah, I allowed him to leave to see to his mother. She had a heart attack so he asked if he could go care for her for awhile."

Glynda nodded slowly before it struck her too. "Then we need a substitute for him, you know?"

"I know, but most of the history teachers have been taken by the other academies. I wonder who we should ask?" Ozpin said.

Silence engulfed the two for a couple moments as the ticking of the clock continued. "Why don't we ask him?" Glynda said to him.

Ozpin looked t her in surprise. "Glynda, you know that he has PTSD. We don't know if he can take this job," Ozpin said to her.

"But he has vast knowledge on history of Remnant and has military history that can help in their learning." Her cheeks were then tinged with a light pink before she said, "And it's because I have faith in him."

"We'll see about that."

* * *

_Oobleck's classroom..._

The last of the students finally entered the classroom as the final bell rang off. Most of them were confused to the fact that their caffeine induced professor wasn't here with them.

"Where is Prof. Oobleck? How are we gonna learn our lessons?" Weiss said in worry. She clenched her fists in irritation when she saw Ruby already dozing off on their row.

Yang just leaned back on her chair and placed her feet on top the row. "Beats me. This means we don't need to do anything," she said with a wide smile on her face.

"You oaf! You can't just slack off in class," Weiss said to the blonde beside her.

Before Yang could reply, the door opened making the students face the door. It was Ozpin with a mug in his hand like usual. He walked down to the desk of Oobleck's and faced them. "Good morning, class. You're probably wondering why Prof. Oobleck isn't here. He's on leave for a bit. So for now, you'll have a substitute to teach you." He then looked at the door and took in a deep breath. "Baker, you may come in now.

A man then came in wearing dark green military pants and an olive green dress shirt with brown combat boots. He had a shaved head with brown hair and eyes that have seen better days. Notably, he had a scar going diagonally across his forehead. He walked down to the desk as well and stood beside Ozpin. He had a pistol holstered to his hip. It was a nickel plated Colt M1911 pistol. Engraved on one side of the pistol, it said, _"For Matthew, Brothers in Arms."_

The man faced the students and smiled at them. "Hello class, I'm Matthew Baker. I'll be your substitute until Prof. Oobleck comes back. I hope we get to know each other and that things will go smoothly."

Ozpin placed a hand on Baker's shoulder and nodded. "Hope you're first day of teaching goes well, Baker," he said before leaving Baker all alone in the classroom.

"So," Baker said as he placed his hands together. "I just need to know where you people are left off at with Oobleck so we may continue," he said to them. He saw Weiss raise her hand and he pointed at her. "You know?"

Weiss dropped her hand and nodded. "We were left off at the Great War, Mr. Baker," she told him.

"I see," Baker said. An image of his dad flashed through his head for a split second before it left him. He picked up the textbook on the desk and flipped through the pages to the Great War section. He read it for a moment and closed it. "Alright, I want you to read pages two hundred and one to two hundred and eleven. We'll summarize as a class after twenty minutes," he told them. Obeying, the students opened their books and started reading silently among themselves. Bake meanwhile sat down on Oobleck's chair and observed them. "Can't believe I'm back after so long," he said to himself.

* * *

_After class..._

Baker was in the teachers lounge with a cup of coffee in his hand. He let out a long yawn before taking a sip.

_"... You wanna take me?! You wanna fucking take me?! Take me?!..."_

Baker shook his head and placed a hand on his head. He tried to ease himself of the memory that had the voice of a friend echo through his head. "C'mon, Baker, you survived the airborne landings at Atlas. You can survive a memory," he said.

Easier said than done. Ever since the events of the landings, he has been haunted by dreams and guilt as he saw many of his friends die before him during the civil war in Atlas those many years ago. He still feels like that he's still on the battlefield and can smell the scent of blood and iron in the air as bullets whizzed passed him. Those feelings kept him up in the middle of the night before falling back to sleep into another dream or nothingness.

He was so focused on trying to ease himself that he didn't see Glynda sit beside him. "Baker?" she said to him.

Baker snapped his head up with tears brimming in his eyes. He wiped his eyes quickly when he saw who was talking to him. "Glynda? Hey," he said to her.

"Hey. Are you okay?" she asked him.

Baker just waved her off with a small smile on his lips. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired that's all."

Glynda could only nod at him with a frown. _I know what you're going through, Baker, _she thought.

"Hey, could you take me to the professor residing in a bit? I think I just want some shut eye after today," Baker said to her.

"Oh, um, s-sure," Glynda stuttered to him. Her cheeks rose up a few shades when she saw Baker look the other way. _I missed you soo much, Baker._


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

**A/N: This will be slightly AU because of some of the places Baker and his squad are from. For example, Missouri will be in-story.**

* * *

Baker and Glynda were walking down "Professor Lane" as the sun started to fall from it's climax. Baker rubbed his eyes trying to stay awake from his lack of sleep. "Hey, Glynda, thanks for walking me to the Professor residence, it's been awhile since I've been here," Baker said to her tiredly.

Glynda smiled widely at him as she continued to walk alongside the veteran. "It's nothing, Baker, I'm glad that I can help out." After a few moments in silence they made it to the professor residings. Even though Glynda knew the truth, she blushed deeply when they stopped in front of one peculiar house. "Hey, Baker?"

"Yes, Glynda?" Baker replied to her.

She never felt this nervous since the first day of being a student of Beacon. But now she was a complete wreck in the inside with conflicting emotions inside of her. "The, um, the academy is having a slight low budget. Don't worry, we're still being paid a good amount and such. But due to that, we couldn't afford you a temporary place to stay. So... I, uh..." she said with her blush turning into a darker hue of red, "I took the liberty... of having you... s-stay with me, if you don't mind," she finished.

Baker was a bit surprised from Glynda's words. It has been awhile since he had been with Glynda since the end of the war in Atlas ten years ago. He was on her team back in Beacon before he left without a word to anyone. "Oh, um, that's very nice of you, Glynda. Thanks," he said to her with his own red hue on his cheeks. "Is my stuff in there?" he asked.

Glynda gave him a curt nod. She walked up to her house and pulled out her key's to unlock it. "Well come on, I'm not going to keep you waiting," she said to him. Baker walked up to the door and stood behind her as she unlocked the door to her abode. He heard the familiar gears let out a soft click indicating that it was open. She opened the door and ushered him in. "Take off your shoes, Baker, and follow me upstairs to you room," Glynda said to him.

"Oh, right." Baker untied his combat boots and took them off his feet. He placed them near the coat closet and stood up straight to see Glynda at the stairs. Without saying a word, Baker went towards the stairs and followed her up the flight. They reached the top and his eyes were caught by an open door. "Hey, is that my room?"

Glynda nodded at him and walked inside the room. "This is the guest bedroom. I... I never had anyone stay here before so you're the first. Until Oobleck comes back, this is your room," she said to him.

Baker walked into his room and observed it for a moment. It was large enough not to feel cramped in like a filthy foxhole behind enemy lines. He had a bedside table with a lamp on top of it and a desk at the opposite end of the room. He noted that his stuff was beside the bed near the window. "Wow, you did this for me?" Baker said to her. He smiled when he saw her blush across her cheeks.

"Y-yes, Baker. Why would I have you carry your own things here? I would not dream of such a thing," Glynda retorted to the soldier. She wasn't going to have Baker spend his time at Beacon all alone in some dingy room inside the academy. No, if he was going to be here, he was going to stay with her. "Why don't you make yourself at home while I get you something to eat. Would you like that?"

Baker nodded at her as his smile grew wider. "Yeah, that'd be nice, Glynda. Sorry if I'm asking to much from you."

"Nonsense. We were teammates back in Beacon and I'm going to make sure you're gonna be having a comfortable stay here," Glynda answered for him proudly before leaving him alone in his room.

"_Now that's the Glynda I know," _Baker thought. He picked up one of his bags and placed it on his bed. He unzipped it and pulled out a few changes of clothes and a small box of .45 ACP magazines for his pistol. "This is going to take me a bit to unpack," he mumbled, still taking out items from the first bag.

* * *

Glynda came back upstairs with a plate of her own cooking. Remembering that Baker's home was in St. Louis, she decided to make some Toasted Ravioli for him. "I hope he still remembers my cooking. Everyone in the team loved my food." She saw that the door was slightly closed. She heard soft snoring coming from his room. She placed her hand on the door and slowly opened it. Her eyes were then met by a sleeping Baker on his bed. She saw that all his bags were emptied out and all over the room. "At least he put his stuff away properly," she said. She placed the plate on his desk and walked over to him and sat down on his bedside.

She frowned when she saw that he wasn't in a peaceful sleep. Baker's face was constantly cringing and moving, as if he was in the midst of a firefight. "...Franky..." he mumbled out as she saw sweat forming on top of his head.

By instinct, Glynda reached out and placed her hand on top of his forehead. She knew that Baker has lost many "Brothers" in the war, evidently, losing his father halfway through their first year at Beacon. For the rest of the year, he was having a hard time sleeping. So she would stay up with him for sometime, stroking his forehead softly. "It's okay, Baker," she whispered. She saw his features soften a bit as she continued stroking his head.

Half an hour has passed and she was just sitting on his bed. Baker by now had a relaxed face as he slept. Glynda let out a satisfied smile as she kept her gaze on him. Her eyes were then caught by a book on his beside table. It was a dark blue book from cover to cover. Age seems to have decayed it along with signs of hardships due the scratches and tears on it. "What's this?" Curiosity took control of her hand and she reached for the book. She grasped it and pulled it towards her face. When she opened to the first page she quickly closed it with her face flushed. "This... this is Baker's journal," she said in shock.

She was sitting there in silence with the journal in hand. She couldn't get her gaze off it. Curiosity and respect were clashing internally in her head at what to do. Her motivations seemed clear when she opened the journal again and read the first page. It was in messy handwriting, showing that Baker had this since he was a kid. She couldn't help but giggle when she read the first sentence.

"_I really want to become a soldier like daddy, but I also want to be a hunter to follow in mom's footsteps. I guess I'll become both..."_

* * *

_Well, I was really upset that we had to leave St. Louis because mom had gotten a new job in Vale. Dad told me it was the same place he met mom for the first time. The good thing is that we're gonna be in a big house in the neighbourhood near a school mom went to to become a huntress. Mom said that I should go there when I become older. I just hope that I'll make lot's of new friends! _

"Just like the little Baker I always knew," she said in glee as she remembered the first time they met.

* * *

_Fifteen years ago..._

"Hey, leave my friend alone!" a twelve year-old Cinder shouted at a group of guys who were tossing a bag from one another while Glynda tried to catch her bag in midair.

"Come on, you guys! Give my bag back!" Glynda yelled as she jumped into the air again to get her bag, but to no avail.

Tim Winchester, the leader of the group, just stuck his tongue out at her as he held the bag above his head. "No, that would ruin the fun!" he sneered at her with a laugh.

Qrow, Ozpin and Summer tried to intervene but two of Tim's friends were keeping them away from the other two who were tossing the bag. "Just leave Glynda alone!" Qrow shouted as he tried to push harder on the guys who was holding him back.

Tim threw the bag again to his friend as they continued to laugh. But before his friend to could catch it, someone else caught it. "You should leave her alone before something bad happens," said a different voice. Glynda looked at who talked and averted her gaze to where it came from. What she saw was a boy about her age of eleven years old with a brown shaven head and blue eyes. He was wearing an olive green sweater and pants with black runners.

"Hey, you shouldn't interrupt our fun, man," the friend said to him. He then was acquainted with a fist bashing into his nose. He fell on the ground and held onto his nose in agony. "You broke my nose!" he yelled.

"Hey!" Tim shouted at the kid who punched his friend in the nose. The kid just glared at him as he placed Glynda's bag on the ground gently before running towards him. "What the-?!" he started to say before he was tackled by the kid to the ground.

"Tim!" Henry shouted, one of the guys who was holding back Qrow and Ozpin, and ran towards him. He kicked the kid in the side to get him off Tim, who had a bleeding nose from a couple punches the kid gave him. He stood over the kid and picked him up by the collar of his sweater. "Let's see how you like it when you get punched in the face," he growled at him.

He backed his hand away and turned it into a fist. He was about to swing his fist into the kids face until a hand caught it. He turned his head around to see Summer holding his hand with a fist of her own behind her. "You really don't want to be doing that, bub," she threatened.

He just let go of the kid's collar and backed away from her. He saw her fight before and he doesn't want to be part of her body-count."Alright, I'm leaving," Henry said to her before running down the street away from her.

"H-hey! You're not supposed to run away from a girl! People will think you're a wimp!" Tim shouted out. He stood up to see his two other friends standing beside him shivering in fear. He saw that they were outnumbered. He turned heel and walked away. "C'mon, boys, this isn't worth our time anymore," he announced. They just nodded and followed Tim's example down the street.

The kid held his side and winced in slight pain as he touched it. Summer walked up to him and looked at him. "You got guts, for a complete stranger," she said to him. She then saw him holding his side with a slight panting. "Are you okay?"

He just waved her off to ease her up. "It's fine, I've been in worse," he said to her.

Summer just nodded at him and noticed her friends behind her. "So anyway, I'm Summer Rose. The guy with the black hair is my brother, Qrow Rose. The one with silver hair is Johnathan Ozpin."

"You can just call me Ozpin," he added.

Cinder then walked up to the kid with her hands on her hips. "I'm Cinder Fall. And that girl over there is Glynda."

The kid nodded at them and shook Summer's and Cinder's hands with his free hand. "Nice to meet y'all. I'm Matthew Baker. Most people just call me Matt or Baker, whatever you like to call me," he said to them. "Just moved here from St. Louis because my mom was told to move here for her job."

Glynda walked over to her bag and picked it up from the ground. She slung it to her back and looked at Baker. "What's her job?"

"My mom's a huntress," Baker told them.

"Wait, your mom is a huntress?" Summer asked him. He just nodded in confirm it. She squished her cheeks together in glee. "That's awesome! I want to be a huntress when I grow up!"

Qrow just laughed at his sister and placed an arm around her neck. "Yeah, she's really keen on being one, one day."

Baker laughed at that a bit before wincing again. "You took a hard blow to ya, you sure you're fine?" Ozpin asked him.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Glynda crossed her arms at him. "Well I don't think you're alright." She grabbed his hand and pulled him with her.

"Hey, what are you doing?" Baker asked her.

"I live nearby. I can ask my mom to look at you. She's a field medic in the hunter world," Glynda told him.

* * *

_Glynda's house..._

Hellen Goodwitch was in the kitchen washing the dishes like everyday. She was humming a tune to herself until she heard the door open. "Oh, that must be Glynda."

"Mom, are you home?" Glynda called out.

"Yes, darling, I'm in the kitchen," Hellen replied. She was finishing up on the last plate when she heard footsteps behind her. She set the plate down and dried her hands. She turned around and her eyes widened in shock and surprise. "Glynda, who's this?" she asked her daughter.

"This is Baker, mom. He got kicked in the side when he stopped Tim and his friends who were picking on me," Glynda answered back.

Hellen walked over to the two and ushered Baker to sit down on a chair while she goes to get her first aid kit. Baker just held his side as he looked around the kitchen. "Nice place you got here," he said to Glynda.

"Since my mom's a huntress, she's given a lot of money so we have this place here," Glynda replied.

Hellen came back into the kitchen with a first aid kit in hand. "Alright, mister, can you lift up your shirt for me so I can see it?"

Baker obliged quickly as he lifted his shirt up. Glynda blushed a little when she saw that he had a small six-pack on his torso. "He must exercise a lot," she whispered.

Hellen inspected the spot Baker got kicked in with experienced hands gliding over it. "Hmm, nothing too serious here. You'll just get a bruise there and it'll probably hurt for at least a week." She then scoffed to herself. "Most kids your age will just bawl their eyes out."

Baker just laughed a bit at her. "Well, my dad is a Colonel in the military so he sorta trained me a bit in ignoring pain at times and how to take a hit," he answered for her.

That's when the most important hit Hellen. "Baker, do you know your parents phone number so I may phone them?" she asked.

"I know them. Give me a piece of paper and I'll give it to you."

* * *

_Later..._

A black sedan drove up in front of the house and the door opened quickly with Baker coming out of it. The driver door opened to have a man step out. He was fairly the same as Baker, except he had brown eyes and, of course, an older version of him. He was wearing a white dress shirt and blue pants with brown shoes. "Matt, I'm glad you're alright," Joseph Baker said to his son and hugged him.

"I'm fine, dad, honest," Baker replied.

Joseph looked up from his son to see Hellen and Glynda standing behind him. He stood up and and walked towards Hellen. "Hi, you must be Hellen. I'm Joseph Baker, Matthew's father," he said while shaking her hand. "Thanks for looking after Matthew for that time. My wife is currently at Beacon to fill out some paperwork for her job while I had to acquaint myself at my new office. I hope he wasn't to much trouble for you."

Hellen shook her head at him. "Nonsense. He was a pleasure to have, Mr. Baker-"

"Please, that was how my father was called. Just call me Joseph," Joseph cut in.

"Alright, Joseph. All in all, him and Glynda talked nonstop. You son really talked about you earning the Medal of Honor during the Great War and how you were an inspirational leader in your squad," Hellen said to him.

Joseph looked at his watch and widened his eyes. "My break is almost over. Matthew, get in the car," he told Baker.

Baker nodded and entered the sedan. He closed the door and locked until he heard a knock on his window. He saw Glynda there pointing down. He pulled the window down and looked at her. "Yeah?" he asked.

"I'm just wondering... wh-which school are you going to? It's almost the end of the school year and you're new here," she said to him with a tinge of pink on her cheeks.

"Oh, let's see. What school do you go to?" he asked her.

"I go to Vale Jr. High school."

"Yep, I'm going there and Signal the next year," Baker replied.

Glynda's eyes were full of excitement when she heard him. "Hey, I'm going to Signal next year too, as well the rest of my friends."

"That's cool. I won't be starting until next week, alright?" he told her.

Glynda just looked down disappointed. A thought then went through her mind and she faced him. "Turn your head around."

"What? Why?" Baker asked in confusion.

"Just do it."

Baker turned his head around and sighed. "What are you-?" His face heated up when she kissed his cheek. He turned back to her and was surprised. "What did you-?"

"That was for getting Tim and his friends away from me," she said sheepishly to him, her flush even darker.

Baker chuckled at her and leaned more into his seat. "That wasn't a problem."

Joseph entered the car and started up the engine. "Matthew, get your head out of the window," he said to him.

Baker followed the orders and removed his away. "See you at school next week!" he said as Joseph drove away from the house.

* * *

_It was then, and only then, I made a new set of friends in Vale. It was pretty exciting for me. I was still surprised when Glynda kissed me on the cheek. But it felt nice to be honest (I just hope she won't know that I did like it). School starts next week for me. Can't wait to see them there._

* * *

**Since she's reading Baker's journal (which I know is totally weird, especially for a woman like Glynda), it'll be going in and out of the real world.**

**Also, since he had this when he was a kid, Baker has different motivations through out his life and his writing and vocabulary improves as he grows up.**


End file.
